The design of gravity walls retaining dry-cohesionless backfill based on the results of a finite element study

A finite element study has been conducted to examine the effect of the properties of the backfill as well as the wall-displacement on the magnitude and distribution of the earth pressure behind gravity walls. According to the findings of this study, a refinement for the approach used in the design of gravity walls with dry-cohesionless backfills is presented herein. The refined approach relates the magnitude and distribution of the earth pressure with the amount of displacement in the wall and the interaction between the wall and the soil.